The sudden onset of COVID-19 had many retailers scrambling to address short-term inventory issues. Panic buying stock-ups left many retailers without enough paper products, cleaning supplies and non-perishable foods to meet suddenly spiking demand. The photos of bare, cleaned-out aisles flooded the internet last spring, and retailers across the globe had to rapidly shift their inventory and supply chain strategies for both the short and long term.
On the other end of the spectrum, shuttered non-essential retailers were left with seasonal product that they had no way of getting into shoppers’ hands. Many immediately pivoted to ecommerce as well as BOPIS and curbside models to salvage sales, but these didn’t address deeper changes in consumer behavior that the pandemic accelerated.
This Retail TouchPoints Special Report will look at how retailers can adjust their inventory and assortment strategies to adapt to times that are still in the process of changing, including:
- Targeted, smarter assortments;
- Analyzing more granular consumer demand data to inform highly localized inventories;
- Using ecommerce to satisfy “long tail” demand; and
- More resilient supply chains that emphasize flexibility and diversification.
Download the report now!
